Posted by Toby on August 13, 1998, at 10:41:46
In reply to Re: Wellbutrin and Valium & lithium & buspar??help, posted by Levi on August 9, 1998, at 0:01:50
Question -- When you say "add the Lithium... and Valium I still have" does that mean you have been taking the Lithium and Valium all along and your doctor just ADDED the Wellbutrin to them? Or were these old prescriptions just hanging around and you want to know whether to start them back with the Wellbutrin?
Answer -- If you were already taking the Lithium and Valium and your doc added the Wellbutrin to them, keep taking them all. Make sure the doc knows about all your medications. If you had stopped the Lithium and Valium some time ago, don't start them back unless your doctor knows about them -- you know, because of the blood monitoring that has to be done with Lithium.
They are safe together, though, so no worries there.
In regard to the alcohol: don't. Not only does it confuse the pscyhiatric aspects of what's going on and interfere with your medications doing their jobs, but especially with lithium it isn't good. This is because alcohol has a tendency to dehydrate the body (both direct effects of the alcohol in the blood and the increased urination it causes) and that is dangerous when taking lithium. Lithium is a salt and when a person is dehydrated, the blood levels increase greatly, causing toxicity in the form of tremors, diarrhea, nausea, confusion and seizures. Of course, the same can be said of coffee and caffeinated sodas: they can also cause dehydration so go lightly on them as well.
poster:Toby
thread:231
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/19980801/msgs/294.html